The Perfect Plan

[Rakvald]

67th of Vhalar 720

Rakvald had heard of the Kudi'eltu. Having lived for a few seasons in Desnind in the past, one picked up a fact or two. The grafter had rubbed elbows with a hunter or two in his time. More than a few of whom often complained about little baboon-like humanoids that stalked the woods, poaching game and flora alike. In fact, he was on his way out to walk through the woods, when he met just such a hunter. He looked long in the face, with a deep frown. He was empty handed, having caught nothing this day.

"Ey..." Rakvald said. He was wearing the totem of Jimmy Fino that day. A man with fine, long hands, long dark hair, and of course Rakvald's horribly mutated bat face. The tentacle arm was safely tucked behind his cloak, so it wouldn't alarm him more than his appearance already would. "No luck t'day uh?"

The Sev'ryn looked up at him grimly, and shook his head. "No, the Kudi'eltu have poached much of the beasts. Left their carcasses for the flies. Nothing of value left. They've grown in number, and leave nothing for the hunters. Soon there will be more Kudi'eltu in my hunting grounds than there are beasts for game."

Rakvald shrugged, as he fell in step with the man, trying to be friendly. "So... why not poison the lot of them?" He asked.

The Sev'ryn gave him a near deadly glare at that, and shook his head again. "No, even if it was our way, they are immune to all natural poisons and disease." The man crossed himself, as if warding against evil spirits. "The Lissirans created them, then cast them out to punish good Desninders."

Rakvald stopped in his tracks, and let the man walk off toward the village, alone. He brought a hand to his chin, and pondered. What if he could make a totem from one? Or use its flesh to graft a greater ability to resist poisons... He could collect all kinds of things with a hand of a Kudi'eltu crawling around for him, picking poison flowers!

Or he could just have it pick ordinary plants, remotely. It was an interesting proposition.

So, later that day, Rakvald got himself a well-made wooden bear trap, and set off into the woods. The Sev'ryn did fairly well for not using steel. The teeth of the bear trap were well sharp and fire-hardened. The springy fibers were as good as steel, and it's bite would be strong indeed.

And yet, he didn't intend to use the bear trap on his quarry, rather, he would find this desolate grove, emptied of game and flora, and bag himself a Kudi'eltu! It was really an ingenius plan as it took form in his mind. He would place himself in the bear trap, just harming his leg enough that he drew blood, attracting the little beasts.

Then, once they showed their faces, their jagged little teeth, and their beady eyes at him, and tried to get a man-sized meal, he would slice their miserable heads off!

It was the perfect plan, and nothing could go wrong.

[Rakvald]

Within a break or two, he'd found the grove. It was clear of all life, for true. Most of the green got picked, chewed, torn apart and thrown to die on the ground. There were well-worn bones with small teeth marks marking them, the marrow sucked straight up out of them. If he didn't find a Kudi'eltu here, he wouldn't find one. But that wasn't really the plan, was it?

Rakvald had a far more insidious and ingenius plot. He would use himself as bait, get caught in his own bear trap, and let the Kudi'eltu find him! It was the perfect plan, as he'd known from the first.

Already, his mind was busily dreaming away at what he'd do with a piece of Kudi'eltu flesh. He thought perhaps to make a totem, but wasn't sure if this creature was one of them that was not suitable for that purpose. It was rumored that the Kudi'eltu lived short lifespans, and died even earlier due to stupidity. A couple arcs tops. He couldn't really use them for a totem, that being the case. What if he got stuck in a totem, or worse, died? That wouldn't be great.

Well in any event, Rakvald got to work, making the bear-trap setting as convincing as he was capable of. Which wasn't very if he was being totally objective. He was just too excited. Besides, the Kudi'eltu were famous for being stupid. They wouldn't look too closely at the trap or his wounded leg!

He just threw down the bear trap, and then with both arms, pried it open, and placed the lock on. Taking a deep breath, he sniffed through his nostrils. Okay. He could do this.

Rakvald lifted his foot. Over the trap's lever. One. Two. Three! "Mother Fucker! Fuck fuck fuck fuck shit damn fuck demons of the Beneath that HURTS!" Rakvald cursed and let fly a string of Vahanic expletives.

He fell to the ground on his rump, his right foot still caught in the trap. He moaned and screamed. But he was too far from Desnind for anyone to come to his aid.

Shit, what if this didn't work! What if the Kudi'eltu attacked and he couldn't defend himself! What if...?!

What was that? Rustling in the bushes, a tittering cackle of what sounded like a monkey, or a baboon, or a.... "Kudi'eltu!" Rakvald cried, and pawed at his trapped foot piteously.

Three of the critters came in close, with their stone spears, and began poking at his clothing. The wielded their spears, whacking him edgewise with the sticks. In truth, they were horribly inefficient about sealing the deal. It was then that Rakvald started to feel better about his chances. He sniffed in his pain, tucking it deep inside, and resisting the urge to scream again. His right hand reached for his handy kukri, it's embersteel blade making a scraping sound against its scabbard as he drew it out...

[Rakvald]

The stone-tipped spears tapped and jabbed and slashed at his clothing, barely making so much as a fleshwound upon the man that wore them. He thanked the ancestors then that he’d worn many layers of hides, and bought only the best from the village! Yet, even as fortified by his will as he was, he had to defend himself against these creatures.

So as he reached along the back of his belt, for the kukri’s hambone handle, he slid it out and swung it with all the speed he could all around him. The kudi’eltu, shocked by his sudden movement, almost started back, but wasn’t quite quick enough to save the thin shafts of their spears, which were splintered and broken upon the masterwork edge of his knife.

Yet, they weren’t deterred. More aggressive than they were stupid, these Kudi’eltu wanted their meal of man flesh. They dropped their spears, and began biting him with their small teeth, climbing, biting, and climbing and biting…

Rakvald could dull the pain in his foot, that was a simple matter for his magic, but to soothe the pain of being bitten at three points at once, that was beyond his ability.

So enraged by the attack of these small, weak creatures, he grabbed one of them by the neck with his tentacle hand, and with a swift chop of his knife, dug into its neck. The thing babbled and gagged as brown blood flowed out of its skin. The others, seeing what he’d done, panicked, and disengaged. They ran into the woods around. And for a moment it looked like victory was Rakvald. Then the thing in his hand bit down on one of his tentacle fingers, which had involuntarily squirmed into tis mouth. Rakvald howled with renewed pain, and dropped the creature.

Yet, the thing was bleeding badly, and wasn’t able to join its matess. It died there, bleeding out on the forest floor with a piece of blackened tentacle in its mouth.

Rakvald took deep breaths in and out, and then sucked in his breath as he willed his tentacle finger to regrow itself. While that began the process of growing, he turned his focus to the trap that held his ankle in place.

He winced as he knelt by the trap, and inspected it, the wound, and the mechanisms holding it intact. With a swift swipe of his knife, he managed to dislodge the springy reeds of wood that kept the trap from being dislodged. Normally these traps were for unintelligent animals in the wild. A man like Rakvald, an intelligent, brilliant and sapient man, could easily figure out a way out of them.

That, and the fact that he had opposable thumbs with which to wield a sharp blade for chopping the trap apart.

This done, he laid his wounded tentacle hand on his wounded ankle, and began the process of healing both.

Neither of the other two kudi’eltu returned to that clearing, thankfully, so he was able to heal in peace. Yet, as he finished sealing his wounds, he turned his attention to the dead one.

What would he make of it now? He couldn’t very well form a totem of so much dead flesh, far removed from the moment of life. He couldn’t sense much life in it at all, really.

That’s when he had, perhaps, his most brilliant idea yet. He would enervate it’s flesh, infuse it with ether, and then bring it back to life so he could form a fresh totem! Yes!

So having determined the way he’d get a Kudi’eltu totem, he took the creature’s hand. It was an odd sight, as if he was in mourning for the poor creature as he took it by the mitt, and concentrated over it as he knelt.

The enervations seethed and flowed into its hand as he filled it with ether. It took many more bits, almost an entire break, but then, he felt it was ready for reviving, so he would be able to form a totem from it.

He held the hand close to his face, concentrating on making it alive again. Then, the oddest thing happened. It’s fist closed up halfway, the bottom two fingers curling inward, leaving the index and middle pointed up. Then, with a sly gesture, the Kudi’eltu hand poked him right in the eyes!

”AAgggh!” Rakvald screamed. What was this!? Had he suddenly become a necromancer, and accidentally raised the Kudi’eltu! Oh no!

After a few moments, his eyes felt well enough to open, just barely. Holding the hand out far from his face this time, he saw the fingers wiggling and writhing on the hand, as if it wanted to move. Then he noticed something else strange. His mind, when he willed it to move a certain way, if he concentrated enough, it would! Was he really a necromancer now!?

Or perhaps… He’d discovered a new technique?

Either way, the hand was his, and he took his trophy with a slice of his kukri. The hand, now emancipated from the dead corpse of the Kudi’eltu, wriggled and climbed up his shoulder, taking a spot on his baldric by grabbing the strap. And so it would hang, until he found a use for it.

When he went to check those stone-tipped spears, he discovered they were not stones, but sharpened golden nels! ”Hmm, not bad, you green little mites!” So he took the treasure with him, on the way back to the village. Perhaps he could trade the sharpened nels for something useful…

The hand wriggled it’s little finger, as if to say goodbye to the rest of its body, as he turned and walked away.

[Shl'Drei]

Review Rewards

Character: Rakvald

Points Awarded: 10
Magic Applicable: Y

Overstepping: Rakvald has some medium overstepping, Scratches appear around his the area of the bear trap bite despite having been grafted closed- lasts for a cycle.
Loot: Roused Kudi'eltu Hand (Poison Immunity)

Knowledges:

• Graft: Rouse: It looks like necromancy, but it's actually the opposite.
• Graft: Rouse: Don't let the disembodied hand get a mind of its own, or it might gouge your eyes.
• Graft: Rouse: Enough enervations poured into a dead limb can bring it back to life again, and under the mage's control.
• Combat: Blades: Cutting a kudi'eltu's arm off is easier when slicing into the joint.
• Combat: Blades: Quick draw and then chop in one motion can grant you the initiative in a fight.
• Fieldcraft: Setting a bear trap on the forest floor, and tripping it on purpose to use yourself as bait for goblins.

Skillplay:
✓ Appropriate

Notes: I had to laugh when I read Rak was going to use the bear trap on himself, but when he did it was no less surprising- While not heavily gorey (Thank you for not LOL) you described it without being gross in my mind. Rak is a master grafter, but since it was his first time using the technique and paired with the healing I thought it fair to give him medium overstepping. That said, you've played his skills well and it was a nice break from the goody goody nice threads haha. There were places, like the graft 'healing' that I wouldn't have minded seeing more detailed, but other than than you've done great. As always if I missed something please PM me, and enjoy your rewards!